Showcased
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, days 820a, 827a, 834a: It wasn't just Rachel and Puck who were affected by this turn of events, there were the other 23 as well. - Project No Day But Today
1. Those Who Stay

_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 39th cycle. Now cycle 40!_

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><p><em><strong>INTRODUCING "CHEAT SHEET" - <strong>If you want to know ahead of time when a certain series will be updated next, just reassemble the link below and check out the list, save it, print it, bookmark it, whatever you need!  
>Go to: <span>gleekathon [dot] tumblr [dot] com [slash] cheatsheet<span>_

_** UPDATED WITH CYCLE 40 CHEAT SHEET ** Check it out to find out about **shift days**, starting in cycle 40!_

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><p><em><strong>This is a shift day [see above].<strong> There will be another upload this afternoon: The Ties That Bind, chapter 1._

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><p><strong>"Showcased"<br>(Rachel/Puck) The "Rent" company  
>[POV Swap on "Audience Testing" - leftover from the 'favorites' of cycle 35 (715-735)] <strong>

**1. Those Who Stay**

They had never thought not to go. They were part of it, and that was for the long haul, nothing to shake them free while they still had a shot. The day before, they had been there, waiting to rehearse with everyone else… only it hadn't been everyone else. There had been seven of them missing and it had killed the rehearsals for that day. Those from Glee Club were out of there before long, but for the other five it was different. They'd stood there kind of confused until Santana had told them to go home.

The next day, the five of them weren't sure what would happen. They walked down the halls, searching for some kind of clue from the others in their group that would tell them whether or not they were going to meet that afternoon or not. But before long, through word of mouth, they'd learned that Rachel and Puck were no shows. After that, it didn't take great leaps to guess they wouldn't be rehearsing that day. So they'd go on with their day just… wondering what would come of their musical.

They hadn't expected the phone tree. Sometime before lunch it began, taking most of the day to work its way down. It hadn't taken long for them to figure out the whole thing was alphabetical, from Abrams down to Wyatt. By that logic the first of those five to get the text would be Craig Holmes.

He'd been hiding out from a particularly 'chipper' Azimio when he felt his phone vibrate and startled. He was hoping he hadn't heard, on the other side of the bathroom stall's door. After scrambling to muffle whatever sound the phone might make, he'd taken a breath or two and read the text's heading. It was from Ben, and for a moment it was like he'd forgotten about the musical. But then Ben was the one he'd get "phone treed" by – he was to send this message on to Finn to confirm he'd received and accepted. He wasn't sure what it was, but in that moment he felt something re-emerge in him like hope, snuffing out his Azimio concerns.

If it had reached him, then by the list… Beckett, Beckett… Frey and Gibson, yes… Four of them had already said yes, the ones who hadn't shown up on the previous day's rehearsals… If that was the case, then that was just three more of those to convince.

It was a no brainer for him, really… At first it had seemed impossible, associating with them, considering… Puck… It had been insanity, but he'd gone with it anyway, and he never regretted it. He had a lot of fun, and beyond all hopes had made friends beyond Gus.

He'd always kind of liked to sing, he did, even if it was never anything serious. For one brief moment a while back he had thought of joining Glee Club, but when Puck had joined it, that idea had been buried. Since they'd started working on the musical, and he'd spent time with the guy, he had done some… re-evaluating.

He sent the message on to Finn, then he listened carefully. Holding on to the stall wall he cautiously raised himself to see… Azimio wasn't there… He could be outside… He'd risk it; there were places to be.

Sometime later, Santana would receive and pass on the message to Ellie Michaelson. She didn't usually go by Ellie, but her family would call her that sometimes. Really she went by Elizabeth, like Lizzie Wyatt, but she knew, like Lizzie, that it would get confusing, especially with them being friends, so Ellie it was.

She was in class when she got the message. Her eyes darted up to the teacher, who was blissfully absorbed in drawing something on the board… was that a donkey, or… No, didn't matter. She looked though, her hand reaching in her pencil case for her phone and looking at the screen. She saw the name and… squeaked. The class turned, her hand shot away, barely getting into 'nothing to see here' mode before the teacher turned. She hadn't been caught. Still when the teacher got back to his artistic endeavors, she could see Lizzie looking at her from two rows over. Ellie mimed a phone and – somehow – a tree, and Lizzie's face lit up before she signalled back: answer. She did, sending the message to Brittany, as was their order.

The two of them had been friends since they were in the fourth grade, when Lizzie and her family had moved to Lima. They'd been inseparable from the start. They were freshmen this year, and that year had brought them into a world where Glee Club was already not the most… socially helpful place to be. So they'd passed on it, not putting too much thought into it.

All this had changed when they'd been recruited into the musical. They didn't understand why people were so harsh on them. They were with them on this project, and that wasn't about to change. If the message had made it to her, then the worst had to be over. Most of those left had to be those who'd shown up, except maybe… Greg… They'd know soon enough.

Greg would send the message, to Elliott Thorne. Of all people, it would be him who'd hold out the longest in this run of the phone tree. It wasn't for lack of wanting, but he'd spent enough time on his own to know there was value in thinking things through.

He was as quiet a guy as they came, most times. He'd get lost in his own world, but just because he was silent didn't mean his world was… He loved music, any kind so long as it touched him. He knew his feet would betray him, tapping along. That was how Rachel Berry had caught sight of him and suggested he audition with them. He wasn't sure, but at the same time he had something to prove, to himself and others, that he could do more, open up… so he did.

But now with Schuester finding out, the showcase… He'd kept going, because he didn't want to lose his progress, his new friends, but… when he got the message he got scared, maybe… He knew that after him it was just Gus and Lizzie, that they'd say yes, but… when he held his phone, coming out of last period, he couldn't make his fingers go.

What if it all went to hell? They could all get in trouble, and that was a factor, but… all he really wanted was to minimize the hurt. Quit while you're ahead. If they let it die now, it couldn't get better only to get so much worse… But then they'd know the line had blocked on him, he'd be to blame… It stayed with him all the way home until finally he'd decided it was worth it to go on. He liked who he'd become with them, hated to think what he'd be without them. So the message went to Gus.

August Wiley, Gus to all, had always gone well with this nickname. It was small, and so was he. He wouldn't have imagined he'd be good for anything except really compact dumpster fodder. But then he'd joined the musical – because his best friend Craig had said yes – and there he'd met her…

Elizabeth Wyatt, Lizzie to many, prided herself on being a positive person. This wasn't without fail of course, as she and Ellie had gone and ignored the possibility of joining Glee Club when they'd wanted them for her musical though… It was something she couldn't pass up. Thinking that if she'd said no she wouldn't have met Gus…

He was sweet, funny… a little awkward and jumpy, especially around Puck, but she actually liked that about him. They usually would have been close in classes, alphabetically and all, but then he was a year ahead of her. In the musical though, in the phone tree, it was Wiley, then Wyatt… The day she'd given him her number, his hands had trembled, she'd laughed, and that was all it took… He'd felt bold one day, asked her out with zero percent on expectation but a hundred on result: she'd said yes.

Now there they were, sitting in her room, homework forgotten for the other's lips. Gus had received the message twenty minutes before he saw it. He looked to her and she held her phone as though to say 'tradition.' So even with her within talking distance he'd texted her. She'd looked 'shocked,' then completed the phone tree by sending it to Puck before tugging at Gus' collar and pulling him back to her lips. The work was done… everyone was on board to meet, the next morning, out on the football field.

TO BE CONTINUED (NEXT THURSDAY)


	2. Those Who Don't

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There will be another upload this afternoon: Tender Love & Care, chapter 1._

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><p><strong>"Showcased"<strong>

**2. Those Who Don't**

They would become the villains of the piece to the rest of them, for not having shown up to rehearsal that day. In the long run they would all see it as a momentary error in judgment, but on that day and those right after it would be… betrayal, abandonment…

Then the day after, whether or not they would miss again or would actually show up would never be seen because Rachel and Puck were absent and rehearsal automatically fell apart. They hadn't realized this would turn them into pariahs until that next morning. What they had and hadn't done, would and wouldn't do, was mostly their own business, until somewhere else Puck would activate the phone tree. They could imagine everyone else saw them as road blocks.

The first two, for alphabetical order, were the Beckett twins. Alicia and Reid were never the closest of siblings. They could have their moments, but it never lasted. By all means, they both had an affinity and an appreciation for the arts, song and dance, but they frequented opposite circles. Alicia had been drafted to the Cheerio life, while Reid was a constant presence in the landscape of McKinley stage productions.

But then Rent had come, and more than anything they had started to co-exist, and it had given them something that brought them together, started to open the way for them to rediscover one another.

The message had gone from 'Rachel' to Artie, to Blaine, until it reached Alicia. She was just coming out of Cheerios practice and when she retrieved her phone, there it was. It caught her off guard and she looked around for the others… Miranda, Greg, Quinn, Brittany, Santana… They had already gone, and maybe it was just as well. It left her the chance to consider things.

She wouldn't join Glee Club, like the others, the three of them that had done it. That wasn't what she wanted, and she was well-satisfied with what she had, the Cheerios… She still wasn't sure why she'd done the musical, maybe because they'd sought her out, chosen her, and it made her go 'why not.' That her brother had also ended up getting chosen… that was pure coincidence, annoying coincidence at first, and then les so…

She left the locker room and hurried down the hall. If she was quick she could catch her brother at his locker.

"Reid!" she called as she neared, seeing that he was about to leave. "Reid! Hey, Corky!" That stopped him.

"I told you not to call me that."

"Then find another way for you to hear me because I sure don't know."

"What do you want?" he frowned.

"See for yourself," she took her phone and sent the message to him. He read it with the same surprise she had.

"When'd you get this?"

"I don't know, I saw it when I got out of practice."

"So… you're going to go then?"

"Only if you are," she declared, and he paused. "Why didn't you go yesterday?"

"You know why." He'd gotten the letter about the scholarship a week ago. This was a unique opportunity for him, she knew. Without it, he'd never get to go to the school he needed to go to. "I can't get in trouble. I shouldn't have done this in the first place…"

"You can't quit now, they need us…"

"Well how come you didn't go?"

"Something we call 'Sylvester panic,'" she shrugged. "But it was stupid, I should have gone. Don't tell anyone this, but… I'd miss it… And I'd miss you."

"We live together," he pointed out.

"You know what I mean," she sighed. He looked to his phone, and he forwarded the text to the next in line, which was Mike. "Thanks," she smiled.

So the message went on, uninterrupted through Chang, Cohen-Chang, Evans, and Fabray. The next possible break was with Frey… Annie, from the Cabaret troupe. She tended to speak for that group, and that was part of her.

She would probably be the kind of person to follow a friend on an audition and end up being the one to catch people's eyes. She had a presence, and this constant compliment, along with the love of a challenge, had led her to audition for Cabaret… She was the first one surprised by the fact she didn't hate it. So when Rachel and Puck had recruited her for Rent, she'd figured why not. Everything had been going fine and then this showcase business had happened. Suddenly it was like she'd been walking in the dark all this time and someone had finally turned the lights on, let her see the dangers in her path.

The doubt had only lasted shortly, but it had been long enough that she'd missed the practice. She'd been trying to figure out an excuse for today, but the rehearsal had never happened. She wasn't sure what it would mean, but then she'd gotten the text from Quinn and she'd thought. Maybe walking in the dark wasn't always such a bad thing. So she'd passed it on, to another one from the old Cabaret group.

Ben Gibson had only ended up on stage in Cabaret after one of their performers had been suspended. They needed a stand-in, he'd been there, as a stagehand, and they'd put him in. When they'd seen what he could do, they'd offered him the part proper. To him it was a chance to surpass his lifelong stage fright. By opening night he was 'a changed man.' With Rent he figured there was more chance for him to do that… Also he had his eye on Annie Frey…

But then the day before, with the madness of the showcase and everything, when he'd seen Annie turn away, he'd done the same. Today though, not only did he receive the phone tree message but, as always, he got it from her… She was still in this… He wasn't about to quit now… So he passed it on to Craig Holmes. After him, and Finn, and Kurt, the message reached the last of the Cabaret contingent.

Taylor Johnson, like many before her, dreamed of becoming a movie star. She would have gladly dropped everything and headed to Hollywood now, but her parents would never let her. So until then the McKinley stage was her outlet. She had gone in for Rent because despite everything she saw a common passion in Rachel Berry; she understood her dreams. But with the showcase her concerns weren't unlike Reid and his scholarship… She didn't want her record tarnished. After a moment though she'd remembered her father's strongest belief: don't give up. So she had passed it to Mercedes Jones: she would stay with them.

After that, the message had only one step to reach Miranda Kramer. Of the seven who hadn't gone to rehearsals the day before, all that remained were her and her boyfriend, Greg. They had been of one mind since this whole thing had started. If either of them said yes or no, the other had to be on board for the same choice, and between them there were never clashing opinions. Maybe it was the freshness of the romance, maybe it was the length of the friendship which had preceded it. They had joined Rent together – why not. And the day before they had declined to attend practice, also together. It was probably a lot of that same 'Sylvester panic' which had hit Alicia, but also there were thoughts of times ahead, more precisely the summer holidays, when they were planning a trip together, for graduation. Their parents had offered to pay, but if this showcase and other factors came and challenged that… So they hadn't gone.

When Miranda got the message, in science class, she'd kept an eye on the teacher and slid her phone across the table, over to Greg. He saw the message and looked at her. There was a silent look: what do we do? Class was ending in five minutes, so they waited. In the hall, they walked hand in hand.

"I can get a job," Greg spoke.

"You already have one," Miranda pointed out.

"I'll get another one."

"What about school? Why would y…"

"No matter what happens with the musical, we can still have our trip, even if we have to pay ourselves."

"Yeah, that's fine but not with two jobs and school… I can get a job," she decided. "No argument."

"Okay," he nodded. "So, send." She smiled, sending the text to Santana. Now they had to wait for it to get to him.

"What if someone doesn't send?"

"Who's left?" he asked, and they both thought.

"Santana, Ellie, Brittany, then you."

"So don't worry, it'll get to me," he was confident. And just minutes later, he received it, sent it on to Elliott. Now all of them were in… It was left to see if the others would have them.

TO BE CONCLUDED (NEXT WEEK)


	3. Those In The Club

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There will be another upload this afternoon: The Ties That Bind, chapter 8._

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><p><strong>"Showcased"<strong>

**3. Those In The Club**

It was strange at times, amusing at others, for them to see how the others handled these developments. As far as those of them who were in Glee Club went, even Sam who was still relatively new, it was just part of business. The showcase was an inconvenience, but they didn't fret on it, only saw it as a chance to bring things in focus. There was still an 'us and them' kind of vibe though, so it almost didn't surprise them when a bunch of them didn't show up to practice that day.

But then the next day Puck and Rachel weren't there, and they began to think of the possibility of these new guys having wrecked it all. They didn't know if this meant a complete stop to activities or not, but they were running out of time already, with the showcase coming…

When Artie received the phone tree message, the very first on the list, he would assume like all others that it was Rachel who'd sent it, as usual. It wouldn't be until much later they'd know it had been Puck with Rachel's cell phone.

He was in class when he got it, and his posture shifted, resisting the urge to fist pump the air. He liked that they were doing this, didn't want to stop. And he was very happy with his role, though having to let Mike handle the tango was a bummer, it wasn't like he expected otherwise. He had tried to figure out a way to work around it, but it wasn't working, and the way he saw it this was for the sake of the production. But if Mike thought he'd get "La Vie Bohème" away from him then he had another thing coming.

So on the message went, out of McKinley and to Dalton Academy. Blaine sat in the library when his phone jerked about from the vibration. He looked up and seeing Artie's name on the screen he blinked… Kurt had already called him to say rehearsal was off today… But he read the message and saw this was for a rehearsal the next day. He smiled at that. He was not a student at McKinley, he didn't know all its inner workings, why they'd had to hide the musical, but he didn't question it. He'd been both surprised and touched when they'd offered him Collins, and it was definitely a chance to branch off… maybe spend more time with Kurt… So it was never an issue, he just sent the message on to the next in line, Cheerio Alicia Beckett.

After the Beckett twins the message would land on another pair who shared a last name, though with no blood relation here. Mike got it first, though as Tina was sitting at his side at the time she found out at the same time he did. Both saw his phone light up on the table and looked to it before looking up at each other. Mike opened the message and they read.

Mike was thankful for the role, though it was kind of prominent, which concerned him. He still had certain issues with his singing, but Artie had offered to help him, since they were sharing Mark. The tango with Santana was going to be interesting… His part in that was secure, and so was Santana's – Mercedes didn't want the tango – but then there was the Maureen issue…

Mike had picked up his phone to send the message on to Tina, in plain view of her, but she would play like she hadn't expected it, 'surprised' by its arrival. She had been taken slightly aback at first, to learn Brittany already had the role of Maureen and she was sharing her, but she'd gotten over it. Now though there were other problems, like who got what parts of the musical. The most heatedly bargained points were the tango and 'Over the Moon,' and while Santana had called for a tango off, Tina had come up for a compromise. Brittany could have the tango, but she got 'Over the Moon.' Brittany had agreed. And with that, 'the Maureens' had found their middle ground. The showcase wasn't even an issue, she wasn't letting go. So the message went on, to their newbie…

Sam wouldn't see the message until lunch. He was getting something for himself and Quinn when he checked his phone and saw it. He'd been a bit apprehensive at first, having already seen how Rocky Horror had gone, but he'd spent enough time with them all to at least consider it. At least there were no gold shorts in this one. And he was sharing Roger with Puck, so he supposed it wouldn't be too bad. Plus there was the Quinn part… That had certainly made him more willing.

Quinn had been sitting at their table waiting for Sam to return and then two things happened in quick succession. Her phone vibrated, but before she even had time to pick it up there was a loud clatter, followed by applause. She looked over and managed to catch a glimpse of Sam crouching to pick up the fallen tray, and… his phone? She looked to hers and saw the message was from him, just sent… It made her laugh, couldn't help it, to imagine him balancing the trays while trying to text her and then…

Then she saw the message – phone tree… Last thing she had expected. Not that she didn't want to keep doing the musical, she did. Of course she'd been one of the last people cast among the club, but then to know Rachel had been willing to share her role, Mimi, with her, it managed to convince her of how serious they were about the production, so she was in. The secret wasn't really an issue, nor was the showcase. So she passed the message on, just as a slightly… battle-stained Sam returned with two new trays.

It would pass through three people before reaching Finn. There was no moment's thought with him on this, even with the Rachel factor. They had been broken up for weeks now, and he hadn't seen it at first, but finally he had. He saw how close she was getting to Puck, and him to her, and he didn't even know if they realized it themselves yet. He wasn't going to quit for that. He was part of the team, wouldn't let them down even if she was moving on. He sent the message to Kurt.

When Mercedes had informed him about the absences that morning he'd turned right around and called Blaine to tell him. He would see him around Dalton, but any reason was a good reason. Apparently Blaine had been holding a piece of information in, because when the phone tree reached him, Kurt was absolutely surprised, in a good way. He may have been unsure about it at first, with the trouble it could cause his old club, but at the same time it would be so good to be back amongst friends…

One more stop later, the message would reach Mercedes. She had taken a bit more coaxing at first, primarily for being brought in so late in the game, but also for having to share her role with Santana. She wasn't about to sit it out though, so she'd accepted. The other people had given her pause, and their bailing out the day before barely surprised her. The fact that today the message had reached her though, it gave her reason to be confident again. So she'd passed it on.

One more hop and the message would find its next New Directions target. Santana had been busy tuning out the teacher, much more interested in watching the back of Brittany's neck flex as she sat there, listening to the lesson. So when she felt the phone's vibration, Santana startled, which got all eyes back on her. "Sorry," she breathed. "Got a little carried away… on learning…" she made it a point to pick up her pen. Slowly the others had turned their attention back to the lesson, though Brittany still looked to Santana as though to ask what had happened. She shrugged it off. When Brittany looked back ahead, Santana let out a breath and looked to the message. Like others before she was surprised to see it was about Rent.

She had long abandoned any attempts to pretend like this wasn't the part of her day she looked forward to. When Puck had extended the invitation for her to play Joanne, and once she'd gotten over the fact that Rachel had the reins, she'd been on board. Add in the fact that Brittany would be playing her Maureen and she was good to go. The two of them and Mike had been preparing for the tango for a while now, and they weren't going to let go just because of a hiccup like the showcase. She wouldn't say it, but Rachel and Puck were doing good with it. So she passed the message on. Knowing who it was going to next, she didn't worry about it getting to Brittany soon; she was right after that one.

And then a few minutes later Brittany's hand carried her phone under her desk to read a new text message: from Ellie – the phone tree. She looked back to Santana, who gave a smirk. Brittany had been game, anxious about the musical, right from the start. After Rachel had gone, the day she'd been asked, Brittany had scoured the halls until she found Santana. At first she tried to play discreet, unsure as to whether she'd been approached, but Santana was quick to make her. Luckily she had been approached, so they were able to talk, especially over the weeks it took before things started happening with the project again. She didn't want it to fail, so she'd been worried when Schuester had found out, even more when people had bailed. Now they would be okay, she could feel it. She sent the message on.

A few stops later, the message would reach Puck's phone, completing the chain and confirming everyone's commitment to the next day's rehearsal, the showcase, and the musical. They would have to regroup, polish away some scratches, but then they were on their way.

THE END


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